


Her Buried Heart

by layla_aaron



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Complicated Relationships, F/M, Heartache, Love Triangles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-13
Updated: 2014-05-13
Packaged: 2018-01-24 15:09:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1609532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/layla_aaron/pseuds/layla_aaron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robin shares a deeper bond with Regina than he realized.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Buried Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TanyaReed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TanyaReed/gifts).



> **Spoilers:** Season 3 Finale. One-shot following the Season 3 finale that left many, including Regina, devastated. This is how I'm coping with what I think is a fucked-up, miserable situation for some of my favorite characters.
> 
>  **Author Disclaimer:** "Once Upon a Time," the characters, and situations depicted are the property of Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis, Kitsis/Horowitz, and ABC Studios. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. This site is in no way affiliated with "Once Upon a Time," ABC, or any representatives of the actors.

Robin feels the loss the moment Regina walks out of Granny's. He feels it keenly in his own heart and turns to gaze at the door.

"Robin?" Marian queries.

He turns to look at her, then shakes his his head. He presses a kiss to Marian's forehead. "I'm sorry," he murmurs before following after Regina.

"Regina," he calls out, once outside the restaurant.

The dark-haired woman glances at him over her shoulder, and the glimmer of tears in her eyes lances through him. 

"Don't, Robin." She shakes her head, holds out a hand as if to stop him.

He makes his way toward her, grateful that she's not used magic to forcibly stop him. Once he reaches her, he cups her face in his hands. "Regina, please don't leave."

"Don't ask that of me, Robin," she whispers. "I understand why, and I would do the same if I were given a second chance with my first love. If our roles were reversed, I'd be there with Daniel, rejoicing to have my love back in my arms." She hastily brushes a tear away. "And Roland needs his mother."

"Regina, we...it's not that simple. This," he gestures between them, "is not that simple and cannot be denied."

Her mirthless laugh causes him to wince. "Physical attraction between two people _is_ rather simple, Robin. It's one of the most basic of the base instincts between two humans."

"Don't, Regina," he mutters. "What's between us is far more than physical attraction. We have a connection, share a bond that others have not."

"Why?" she asks.

"Because for a time, my heart beat for the both of us." He threads his fingers through her hair at the nape of her neck. "I can't and won't deny the connection I feel with you."

"We're not the first, you know." She steps away from him, lifting his hand from her neck and holding it. She stares at their entwined fingers. "Snow and Charming share one heart. Her heart, torn by my own fingers, then placed within their chests."

She lifts her gaze and stares at his face. "I should have known better. People like me don't get second chances. We don't deserve second chances, and this is the universe's way of reminding me."

"I love you, Regina," he whispers.

"But you love her, too, as well you should." Regina shakes her head. "No, it's, it's better this way. I have loved and lost, and loved and lost again, and now I will remember this painful lesson." She kisses her fingertips then touches them to his lips. "It's not a lesson I'll soon forget, Thief."

He watches her leave and murmurs to himself, "I love her, but I'm in love with you." He ignores the tears slowly sliding down his own cheeks.

***

Robin feels it the moment Regina removes her heart. He wakes with a start, his heart pounding a staccato beat in his chest. He knows it's beating for two.

Without regard to his state of undress, he shifts off the bed and follows his heart. His heart grows heavier and heavier as he walks. His walk soon becomes a run, and he finds himself in front of Regina's house. He doesn't bother to knock, walking around the house to find her on the ground by her apple tree.

He crosses to her, dropping to his knees behind her. "Regina," he whispers.

She turns to gaze at him over her shoulder. Her tears leave trails in the mud smudges on her cheeks. She holds her heart in her left hand, and it beats a steady rhythm. "I can't," she murmurs. "It's too much, too soon."

He scoots toward her on his knees, wraps his arms around her, then enfolds the hand that holds her heart with his own. "I'm so sorry." He presses kisses to the back of her head before resting his cheek on her hair.

"If it's not inside me, I'll feel less," she says. "I just can't take the pain this time. Please don't ask that of me." 

"I won't," he whispers. "I..." He can't find the words to tell her how sorry he is for this miserable situation in which they find themselves. All he wants is to hold her, comfort her, reassure her that nothing has changed, all the while knowing that almost everything has changed. "What can I do to help?"

She twists to look at him, pulling out of his embrace. "Bury it," she replies. "I can keep it safe here, under my tree, but I can't keep it inside me right now."

He nods. With both hands, he begins pawing at the ground at the foot of her apple tree. He keeps digging until he's created a hole that goes down several feet. When he pauses, he glances at her over his shoulder. The sight of her rocking back and forth, her heart cradled in her hands, leaves him gutted. Not even Marian's death left him this devastated.

Regina places her heart in his hands, and he swallows hard, understanding the depth of her trust. With the utmost care, he places her heart in the ground, then gently covers it with the freshly dug soil. He carefully pats the dirt down to leave as little sign as possible of the disruption to the ground.

He moves from a kneeling to a sitting position, and when she curls up next to him, he wraps his arms around her and places a kiss to the top of her head. "I..."

She shakes her head. "Don't, Robin. No words, please."

He nods and holds her close.

***

Marian knows the moment she's lost Robin to another love. She feels it deep inside her and sheds silent tears as the night becomes dawn.


End file.
